Friday, July 16, 2010
A few pictures
I missed sharing this picture on here! This is G when we were on our way home from camping. Everyone knows I'm a Pepsi freak and I love how this picture makes G look tiny compared to that big Pepsi! After I saw this one it reminded me of another pic of a super special little boy in my life who likes Pepsi - BEN!!! I'm trying to find that picture to add in here. I think Ben was like 18 months or so in his picture but I can see it clear as day in my mind so I'll have to dig it up.
And this picture I took the other day. It makes my heart stop when I look into his eyes!
And here's a pretty picture of Crash that I took that same day:
Watch out fat dude with frizzy hair that plays the harmonica in that one band that had like one hit.......
Sarah bought G a music set from Melissa & Doug back in like November. It has a tambourine (sp?) and little xylophone and a harmonica. Well G has played with the xylophone and tambourine but never got the hang of the harmonica...until now. He's figured out that some things you have to blow into to make them work. Normally when we tell him to blow on something (to cool his food or blow out a candle) he puts his bottom lip out and blows the air up - like into his nose. But he has this Thomas flashlight (surprised, I know) and it's also a whistle. He's forever bringing it to us to blow but finally the other day something just clicked and when he first made it whistle the look in his eyes was pure victory. He applied that to his harmonica when he shoved it in my face and I blew he turned it around so he could look at it and he wrapped his mouth around it and blew. And he's hardly put it down since. I'll clap my hands and dance and say, "Make me some music!" And he will!!! And he's so stinking proud of himself that I bust a gut. Who knew something so simple could be so sweet!?!
G and his Thomas whistle:
G and his Thomas whistle:
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Doggy checkups
Siren was due for a vaccination and I knew that Crash was too. I dug up his paperwork from the breeder and found that he wasn't just due for a vaccination - I'd missed a booster and another vaccination. I'm a bad dog mom. Bad!
I called the Humane Society to see who they recommended and they told me a place called Animal Blessings. I called and scheduled an appointment for 07/14. Siren got the once over and she got her shot (spray up the nose) and the vet gave me a regime of drugs that she should be taking now that she's older since I mentioned that she takes a little bit longer getting up from the floor. The vet said she needed to lose weight. Duh, she's a Holbert. She weighed in at a hefty, but slimmer than at Christmastime, 78 pounds.
Crash weighed in at a whopping 12.4 pounds. He's going to be a big Boston! Maybe we should have kept the name Fat Albert that the breeder had given him. He got a booster and he gets another shot in 2 weeks. She looked at the red areas on his belly, neck and face (it's been like that for about a week) and first she told me to buy him a metal bowl to eat/drink out of and to get him a leather collar. Then she did a skin scraping and came back with a diagnosis of Demodex. Apparently all dogs have these mites on their skin but that Crash's immune system is "compromised" and the mites had mutliplied to out of control numbers. Poor pubby!
I now have to give him a bath with this medicated soap one time a week and leave the soap on his skin for 10 minutes. Yeah, that shouldn't be hard to do. And then I have to condition him because the soap will dry out his skin. He's on a medication just for the demodex and I have to give that to him one time a day for FIVE WEEKS, increasing the dosage by .01 ml each week. And then to top it all off he stands a chance of staph infection so I have to give him an antibiotic three times a day for TWO WEEKS. When they asked me what pharmacy they needed to call that into I just laughed. I knew our pharmacist would get a kick out of the fact that he was now providing medication for our dog too. After all was said and done $170 spent on the dogs. Ouch!
Here is me and Crash:
And here is Siren and G:
I called the Humane Society to see who they recommended and they told me a place called Animal Blessings. I called and scheduled an appointment for 07/14. Siren got the once over and she got her shot (spray up the nose) and the vet gave me a regime of drugs that she should be taking now that she's older since I mentioned that she takes a little bit longer getting up from the floor. The vet said she needed to lose weight. Duh, she's a Holbert. She weighed in at a hefty, but slimmer than at Christmastime, 78 pounds.
Crash weighed in at a whopping 12.4 pounds. He's going to be a big Boston! Maybe we should have kept the name Fat Albert that the breeder had given him. He got a booster and he gets another shot in 2 weeks. She looked at the red areas on his belly, neck and face (it's been like that for about a week) and first she told me to buy him a metal bowl to eat/drink out of and to get him a leather collar. Then she did a skin scraping and came back with a diagnosis of Demodex. Apparently all dogs have these mites on their skin but that Crash's immune system is "compromised" and the mites had mutliplied to out of control numbers. Poor pubby!
I now have to give him a bath with this medicated soap one time a week and leave the soap on his skin for 10 minutes. Yeah, that shouldn't be hard to do. And then I have to condition him because the soap will dry out his skin. He's on a medication just for the demodex and I have to give that to him one time a day for FIVE WEEKS, increasing the dosage by .01 ml each week. And then to top it all off he stands a chance of staph infection so I have to give him an antibiotic three times a day for TWO WEEKS. When they asked me what pharmacy they needed to call that into I just laughed. I knew our pharmacist would get a kick out of the fact that he was now providing medication for our dog too. After all was said and done $170 spent on the dogs. Ouch!
Here is me and Crash:
And here is Siren and G:
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A "normal" 2 year old...
Here are some snippets from the literature I was given at G's 2 year appointment.
* May assert self by saying, "No."
Well now that that's been firmly established.
(There are a lot more here but most relate to interaction with other children, which he doesn't have much of. When he does play with other children he's very respectful of boundaries and he's very easy going. He's the kid who gets the toy taken away from him, not the kid who does the taking. He doesn't hit/punch/bite/scratch/push others at all).
Oh this is good stuff, I feel the need to keep going.
Alrighty then, that much I'd have to agree with I think, though I don't exactly see where they get their correlation between giving a child power and self-centeredness. This is my favorite part of this whole "section though:
I should do it - just to see what they have to say. I don't think G's spoiled. I think he has too many "things" but that he is loved and cared for and we teach him adequately. I think milk spoils, babies do not.
We also got handouts on temper tantrums (we're about old pros at those already) and appetite slumps in toddlers (we go down this road about once a month or so but he's currently eating alright), sugar and sweets (he has been formally introduced to Kool-Aid and he loves it. And the doctor's piece of paper says it's okay), gun safety, nutrition, etc.
And now all the papers went into my shred box. I am informed.
Normal Development: 2 Years Old
Physical Development
* Is constantly in motion.
No shit, Sherlock.* Tires easily.
I wish* Runs and climbs.
Every minute of every day, when not sleeping of course.* May have trouble settling down for bedtime.
Holy crap who writes this stuff? Doc Obvious???Emotional Development
* Gets upset and impatient easily.
Yes, he's a man.* Shows anger by crying and striking out.
Der.* Gets frustrated when not understood.
Get used to it son, it'll happen all the days of your life.* Wants own way.
Der - has a penis.* May assert self by saying, "No."
Well now that that's been firmly established.
* Has sharp mood changes.
What? A male having mood changes even though he doesn't have a period? Whoever heard of this?Social Development
(This one worries me since he's not around other kids very often at all)* Becomes more interested in brothers and sisters.
He has no concept that there is such a thing. There is room for only one Ed/Cyndi kid in this house.* Knows gender.
What? Like he knows he has a penis? Because if that's the case my kid is a genius - he found that thing at like 2 weeks old!(There are a lot more here but most relate to interaction with other children, which he doesn't have much of. When he does play with other children he's very respectful of boundaries and he's very easy going. He's the kid who gets the toy taken away from him, not the kid who does the taking. He doesn't hit/punch/bite/scratch/push others at all).
Mental Development
* Is much more interested in language.
I wouldn't say interested so much as he's starting to realize he needs to use his words to tell me what he's demanding from me.* Uses child grammar.
Grammar? In a 2 year old? I think not.*Understands more words than can speak.
Understands more grunting noises than words.* Likes to, "Do-It-Myself."
Oh, yes. He is his mother's child.* Cannot be reasoned with much of the time.
Oh yes. He is his father's child.* Cannot choose between alternatives.
Bet me. This boy easily chooses, "Outside or TV?" TV! "Spanking or behaving?" SPANKING!Oh this is good stuff, I feel the need to keep going.
What is a spoiled child?
A spoiled child is undisciplined, manipulative and unpleasant to be with much of the time. He behaves (like how they used he right there?) in many of the following ways by the time he is 2 or 3 years old?
* Doesn't follow rules or cooperate with suggestions.
My 54 year old husband doesn't either.* Doesn't respond to, "No," "Stop," or other commands.
Uh oh, G's spoiled. No, wait - HE'S 2!* Protests everything.
So does my 54 year old husband.* Doesn't know the difference between his needs and his wishes.
Just like every man I've ever known.* Insists on having his own way.
Again, just like every man I've ever known.* Makes unfair or excessive demands on others.
Just like every government agency I've ever come in contact with.* Doesn't respect other people's rights.
What? Parents have rights???* Tries to control people.
Okay, that's just funny. He's 2 - ask him and he'll tell you it's his JOB to control people.* Has a low tolerance for frustration.
My hell, who doesn't???* Frequently whines or throws tantrums.
So does my 54 year old husband.* Constantly complains about being bored.
This is a kid who thinks a box is a hat and who is content to just walk around outside picking up dirt and rocks and throwing it. I'm not worried about him being bored just yet. The main cause of spoiled children is lenient, permissive parenting. Permissive parents don't set limits and they give in to tantrums and whining. If parents give a child too much power, the child will become more self-centered.
Alrighty then, that much I'd have to agree with I think, though I don't exactly see where they get their correlation between giving a child power and self-centeredness. This is my favorite part of this whole "section though:
When should I call my child's health care provider?
Call during office hours if:
* You feel your child is becoming spoiled.
I should do it - just to see what they have to say. I don't think G's spoiled. I think he has too many "things" but that he is loved and cared for and we teach him adequately. I think milk spoils, babies do not.
We also got handouts on temper tantrums (we're about old pros at those already) and appetite slumps in toddlers (we go down this road about once a month or so but he's currently eating alright), sugar and sweets (he has been formally introduced to Kool-Aid and he loves it. And the doctor's piece of paper says it's okay), gun safety, nutrition, etc.
And now all the papers went into my shred box. I am informed.
The Master Cleanse - Day 1 & DONE
Stop laughing at me, I can do this. I know secretly Ed is thinking, "I know this woman, no way will she go without solid food," but I hope to prove him and myself wrong.
This isn't about losing weight though it's no secret that I need to do that. My goal is to purge my body of all the toxins of the crap food I have been eating for the last several years. I am tired of feeling sluggish all the time. I wake up tired and don't sleep well. I can't concentrate on even the simplest of things and it's having a negative impact on a lot of things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure after at least 10 days of no solid foods that there is going to be some weight loss but I'm also smart enough to know that as soon as I start eating solids again water weight will come back on. But any weight loss is a jump start anyway. I'm hoping that this will also help me kick my Pepsi addiction which is a huge problem for me. I want natural, my body is healthy kind of energy - not the pseudo energy that caffeine and sugar gives me.
What is it you might ask? Fresh squeezed lemons, pure maple syrup, lots of water and cayenne pepper. I'm not too sure about how the pepper comes into play but what the hell. I just did my salt water flush which entailed drinking 32 ounces of water that contained about a tablespoon of sea salt. That's supposed to be the laxative portion of the "method" since I won't be consuming any fibers. It's needed to flush the toxins out of my system that the lemons will natural cleanse from my colon and other organs. While chugging the sea salt wash I made my "lemonade." It took 4 lemons to get the amount needed to make a full days worth of the lemonade. This is not a good thing considering I bought a bag with 8 lemons in it. That means I'll have to go into town tomorrow for more lemons and now that I think about it, more maple syrup since it took half the bottle. I just took my first swig of the "lemonade" and the cayenne is noticeable but not enough to make me vomit, yet. Otherwise I might even consider it tolerable. I wonder if I can just take my whole days serving of the cayenne in one sitting or if I have to spread it out. Well I'll follow the instructions for today. Ooh, be back later - that "flush" has kicked in.
Just for shits and giggles I went ahead and weighed myself today - just to see how bad the numbers really are. They're bad. The day we left to go camping (06/24) I was 169. Today I am 174.2. Don't be jealous - you know you want to be a fat cow too!
Update 2:20 pm:
Okay, I call uncle. Not because I'm a total wienerhead or anything but because I've vomitted twice in the last 2 hours and I have 10+ sores in my mouth that weren't there this morning. I need to step back and re-evaluate this since my timing to start wasn't the best and I didn't consider what a citrus fruit might do to my already sore prone mouth. Tomorrow is my Humira injection and methotrexate day. That was pretty stupid of me. But I'm now I'm eating some canteloupe in the hopes that it will sooth my stomach. I'm going to do some more research. Now I need to figure out how else I can use a juicer. Ha!
This isn't about losing weight though it's no secret that I need to do that. My goal is to purge my body of all the toxins of the crap food I have been eating for the last several years. I am tired of feeling sluggish all the time. I wake up tired and don't sleep well. I can't concentrate on even the simplest of things and it's having a negative impact on a lot of things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure after at least 10 days of no solid foods that there is going to be some weight loss but I'm also smart enough to know that as soon as I start eating solids again water weight will come back on. But any weight loss is a jump start anyway. I'm hoping that this will also help me kick my Pepsi addiction which is a huge problem for me. I want natural, my body is healthy kind of energy - not the pseudo energy that caffeine and sugar gives me.
What is it you might ask? Fresh squeezed lemons, pure maple syrup, lots of water and cayenne pepper. I'm not too sure about how the pepper comes into play but what the hell. I just did my salt water flush which entailed drinking 32 ounces of water that contained about a tablespoon of sea salt. That's supposed to be the laxative portion of the "method" since I won't be consuming any fibers. It's needed to flush the toxins out of my system that the lemons will natural cleanse from my colon and other organs. While chugging the sea salt wash I made my "lemonade." It took 4 lemons to get the amount needed to make a full days worth of the lemonade. This is not a good thing considering I bought a bag with 8 lemons in it. That means I'll have to go into town tomorrow for more lemons and now that I think about it, more maple syrup since it took half the bottle. I just took my first swig of the "lemonade" and the cayenne is noticeable but not enough to make me vomit, yet. Otherwise I might even consider it tolerable. I wonder if I can just take my whole days serving of the cayenne in one sitting or if I have to spread it out. Well I'll follow the instructions for today. Ooh, be back later - that "flush" has kicked in.
Just for shits and giggles I went ahead and weighed myself today - just to see how bad the numbers really are. They're bad. The day we left to go camping (06/24) I was 169. Today I am 174.2. Don't be jealous - you know you want to be a fat cow too!
Update 2:20 pm:
Okay, I call uncle. Not because I'm a total wienerhead or anything but because I've vomitted twice in the last 2 hours and I have 10+ sores in my mouth that weren't there this morning. I need to step back and re-evaluate this since my timing to start wasn't the best and I didn't consider what a citrus fruit might do to my already sore prone mouth. Tomorrow is my Humira injection and methotrexate day. That was pretty stupid of me. But I'm now I'm eating some canteloupe in the hopes that it will sooth my stomach. I'm going to do some more research. Now I need to figure out how else I can use a juicer. Ha!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
G's 2 year checkup
He weighs 31 pounds (that surprises me) and is 36.85" tall - or 37 inches in my book.
They brought us back at our appointed time but because I had scheduled G and Ed's appointments (physical for Ed, checkup & vacc's for G) at the same time they decided to do Ed's appointment first and they sequestered me and G in one room and kept Ed in another. So I had to "entertain" Dr. Destructo in an exam room...for 45 minutes. Oh, that was fun. There are a lot of drawers in those rooms with a lot of stuff in them. But G's favorite thing was to rip the paper covering the exam table and the bulb attached to the blood pressure cuff. Good times, good times. I started to get really irritated so I began to look at everything in the exam room and decided that since I pay so much for my medical care, I might as well get something useful out of it. So I took some tongue depressors (think craft projects) and those long handled q-tip things (disposable paintbrushes) and some gauze (always handy to have around) and some bandaids. I did manage to stop myself from collecting a plastic speculum or two though. Oh, and they *had* a big roll of stickers.
But on our way to the appointment (I drove because I've been having issues with motion sickness since my last ear surgery) I had Ed help me to brainstorm a list of the words that G now says. I was surprised when we counted them all up! So here's the list just so I can remember down the road:
Mama * Dada * house * puppy * Nana * Uncle * please * thank you * car * big car * tree * green * bye-bye * nigh-night * go * I see * Let's see * apple * banana * num-num * ouch * owie * hand * head * hair * chin * eyes * nose * teeth * choo-choo * yeah * no * more * read * cheese * uh-oh * two * oh no! * where he go? * I know * cool * brr cold * cookie * bow-wow * bunny * girl * all done * who that * wow * weehaw * wahoo * go see * I go see * sit * crash * hhmm * tweet-tweet * ca-ca (it's what he calls a bird - think of how a crow sounds).
And I've been working on his letters with him too. He can identify and say these letters on sight:
A * E * I * K * M * N * O * Q * R * T * U * Y.
Pretty nifty huh? The only number he says or even attempts to say is two. It makes it interesting when I'm trying to do the "count of 3" thing because I say, "One..." and he says, "TWO!" Oy.
He loves any and everything that involves trains and he makes the chugga chugga noise like a train is coming up the track and of course the ever present, "choo-choo." The sad fact is that he's never even see a real train. I tried when I was in Libby but it just didn't work out. I need to find a way to show him when we're in Missoula next.
Anyway, back to the appointment. One of the first things the doctor asked me when she came in was, "Is this Garrett?" I managed to not reply in a snarky fashion but when she said, "Does he go by Gary?" I couldn't help myself. I just said, "Why would he go by Gary if his name is Garrett?" Does that seem stupid to anyone else or is it just me? If I'd wanted to name him Gary I would have just named him Gary. Yeah. Anyway, she checked him out (see, nut squeeze) and declared him healthy and a big boy. I asked her if he felt warm to her and she said yes and that she'd have the nurse take his temperature (which never happened). She checked his ears because he's been covering them at loud noises lately. No fluid and no redness so she decided (after I fed her the answer) that he must just be playing with his auditory skills since he's probably realized that his ears hear and he can manipulate the levels by covering them. Oh, and I do probably yell too much which might be why he's quick to cover his ears these days...since he's forever doing things to make Momma yell.
She asked me if his activity level concerned me at all which was not a question I was prepared for. I said, "Isn't this how 2 year old's act?" She said, "Well I have a 3 year old and he's a really busy little guy too." Then she went on to talk to me about how if I was concerned with his activity, speech, learning levels, etc... that she could give me the phone number for some Early Learning Center in Missoula. I said, "Do you see anything I should be concerned with? I know you're a mom and that you are a medical professional so I would like your opinion." She said no. I wanted to say, "Then why the hell did you bring it up?" But I chose to keep my mouth shut on this one. He got one vaccine and we were sent on our way - with a diaper bag full of craft supplies and a handful of paperwork on all the "normals" for a 2 year old. That's some funny reading right there.
All in all, I'm proud of my boy. I think he's right on with a lot of things. His growth pattern has slowed down but he's between the 90th and 95th % for height and 75% for weight. I think that's perfect!
They brought us back at our appointed time but because I had scheduled G and Ed's appointments (physical for Ed, checkup & vacc's for G) at the same time they decided to do Ed's appointment first and they sequestered me and G in one room and kept Ed in another. So I had to "entertain" Dr. Destructo in an exam room...for 45 minutes. Oh, that was fun. There are a lot of drawers in those rooms with a lot of stuff in them. But G's favorite thing was to rip the paper covering the exam table and the bulb attached to the blood pressure cuff. Good times, good times. I started to get really irritated so I began to look at everything in the exam room and decided that since I pay so much for my medical care, I might as well get something useful out of it. So I took some tongue depressors (think craft projects) and those long handled q-tip things (disposable paintbrushes) and some gauze (always handy to have around) and some bandaids. I did manage to stop myself from collecting a plastic speculum or two though. Oh, and they *had* a big roll of stickers.
But on our way to the appointment (I drove because I've been having issues with motion sickness since my last ear surgery) I had Ed help me to brainstorm a list of the words that G now says. I was surprised when we counted them all up! So here's the list just so I can remember down the road:
Mama * Dada * house * puppy * Nana * Uncle * please * thank you * car * big car * tree * green * bye-bye * nigh-night * go * I see * Let's see * apple * banana * num-num * ouch * owie * hand * head * hair * chin * eyes * nose * teeth * choo-choo * yeah * no * more * read * cheese * uh-oh * two * oh no! * where he go? * I know * cool * brr cold * cookie * bow-wow * bunny * girl * all done * who that * wow * weehaw * wahoo * go see * I go see * sit * crash * hhmm * tweet-tweet * ca-ca (it's what he calls a bird - think of how a crow sounds).
And I've been working on his letters with him too. He can identify and say these letters on sight:
A * E * I * K * M * N * O * Q * R * T * U * Y.
Pretty nifty huh? The only number he says or even attempts to say is two. It makes it interesting when I'm trying to do the "count of 3" thing because I say, "One..." and he says, "TWO!" Oy.
He loves any and everything that involves trains and he makes the chugga chugga noise like a train is coming up the track and of course the ever present, "choo-choo." The sad fact is that he's never even see a real train. I tried when I was in Libby but it just didn't work out. I need to find a way to show him when we're in Missoula next.
Anyway, back to the appointment. One of the first things the doctor asked me when she came in was, "Is this Garrett?" I managed to not reply in a snarky fashion but when she said, "Does he go by Gary?" I couldn't help myself. I just said, "Why would he go by Gary if his name is Garrett?" Does that seem stupid to anyone else or is it just me? If I'd wanted to name him Gary I would have just named him Gary. Yeah. Anyway, she checked him out (see, nut squeeze) and declared him healthy and a big boy. I asked her if he felt warm to her and she said yes and that she'd have the nurse take his temperature (which never happened). She checked his ears because he's been covering them at loud noises lately. No fluid and no redness so she decided (after I fed her the answer) that he must just be playing with his auditory skills since he's probably realized that his ears hear and he can manipulate the levels by covering them. Oh, and I do probably yell too much which might be why he's quick to cover his ears these days...since he's forever doing things to make Momma yell.
She asked me if his activity level concerned me at all which was not a question I was prepared for. I said, "Isn't this how 2 year old's act?" She said, "Well I have a 3 year old and he's a really busy little guy too." Then she went on to talk to me about how if I was concerned with his activity, speech, learning levels, etc... that she could give me the phone number for some Early Learning Center in Missoula. I said, "Do you see anything I should be concerned with? I know you're a mom and that you are a medical professional so I would like your opinion." She said no. I wanted to say, "Then why the hell did you bring it up?" But I chose to keep my mouth shut on this one. He got one vaccine and we were sent on our way - with a diaper bag full of craft supplies and a handful of paperwork on all the "normals" for a 2 year old. That's some funny reading right there.
All in all, I'm proud of my boy. I think he's right on with a lot of things. His growth pattern has slowed down but he's between the 90th and 95th % for height and 75% for weight. I think that's perfect!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Camping
I think camping will be easier once G is a little older and not only understands the word NO but listens when we say it. I think I'll just skip camping until that time. Okay, not really, but it is a tempting thought.
We took off on June 24th and headed up to the north fork of the St. Joe River knowing specifically that we were going to try and find a spot on Loop Creek. We met Mom at the Visitor's Center in Wallace and we took off over Moon Pass. This was the first time she would be taking her little Fun Finder out for more than an overnight trip! I haven't been over Moon Pass in forever. My favorite part of that drive was seeing all the burned out ooooooold trees and then Ed reminded me that they were from the fire of 1910 - 100 years ago this year. There's something hauntingly beautiful about those big old shells of trees which were probably 100+ years old when they burned. We pulled up Loop Creek and Ed pulled into one camp spot. I got out and started exploring and came back and said, "I don't like it - we need to keep looking." Ed was not happy with me since he'd already unhooked from the trailer. We went up the creek a little further and found what I felt was the perfect spot - a little bit more cover and right on the creek, like hearing the creek roar all day/night long close. LOVED it.
Ed had to do the majority of the set-up since I had to do the majority of the G wrangling. I knew then that my camp time would be spent chasing him down and trying to keep him out of the creek. And I was right. But the big plus was that he slept like a champ every night since his naps were short and he never stopped moving. The next day we went to get Chuck and Jackie (Dad's best friends) but they had already headed over the hill from the Montana side so we met them about halfway. Mom took them back to our campsite and Ed, G and momma went in to Wallace to call Josiah & Lisa who were going to come join us. Well they had changed their mind and they were already on the road to the Oregon coast. My first thought, "Oh crap I made way too many cupcakes!!!" Ha. I'd made a smash cake and cupcakes for G's birthday and we were going to "celebrate" on the 25th when everyone got to camp. Oh well, we still managed to scarf down the majority of the cupcakes. G DESTROYED his cake after dinnertime and after getting to open the last of his presents. Most of his presents he got to open before we left to go camping because they weren't toys I wanted out at camp. Then G got his first bath in the camper. I think he liked the itty bitty tub that fit him just right.
The next day (Saturday) me, Ed, G, Jackie, Mom and Chuck all went up to the top of the Hiawatha trail with our bikes. Chuck parked down the trail aways and he met us. Wow, what a ride! If you live in North Idaho you MUST go ride the Hiawatha Trail. The $9/person price tag is a hard bill to swallow I must admit. Ed pulled G in the bike trailer and G loved it so much that he fell asleep for probably about an hour. It was a perfect day for a bike ride though - not too hot wtih a good breeze. The first train tunnel (oh my Dad would have loved the pictures) was long and odd because of how black it was. I didn't think 1.7 miles was a big deal but it was kind of long for how strange the feeling in there was. My poor Mom got a little off kilter and she ended up crashing her bike (she's not a bike rider anyway) and she landed in the little culvert on the side of the tunnel (for moisture run-off) right on her back with her camera backpack hanging right in the water. She was like a turtle stuck on her back and after we rescued her ("Are you alright Shirley?" "I'm alright, I'm just stuck!") we laughed but at first, being that it was pitch black in there, I was worried. Thank goodness for headlamps! Once we met up with Chuck, who by the way has one prosthetic leg, we went through another tunnel but this time Chuck crashed. After that Chuck and Mom rode back to camp (3 miles down hill) rather than finish the remaining 12 miles of the Trail. So it was just me, G, Ed and Jackie. Thankfully Ed and Jacks were okay with stopping frequently so I could take pictures. We biked the 3 miles back up to camp and that was easily the hardest part of the ride since it was uphill. We got back to camp ready to die!
The next day we packed up camp and went home the long way, coming out at St. Regis. We got to show Sarah a lot of the St. Joe and completely unsolicited as we're driving down the road she said, "Wow, this pretty. Where are we?" "Heaven," I said. My Dad loved the Joe too (because of its beauty and all the train history) and a lot of our romance (me and Ed) began on the St. Joe. Even though we live in an amazing place, the Joe will always have my heart.
We took off on June 24th and headed up to the north fork of the St. Joe River knowing specifically that we were going to try and find a spot on Loop Creek. We met Mom at the Visitor's Center in Wallace and we took off over Moon Pass. This was the first time she would be taking her little Fun Finder out for more than an overnight trip! I haven't been over Moon Pass in forever. My favorite part of that drive was seeing all the burned out ooooooold trees and then Ed reminded me that they were from the fire of 1910 - 100 years ago this year. There's something hauntingly beautiful about those big old shells of trees which were probably 100+ years old when they burned. We pulled up Loop Creek and Ed pulled into one camp spot. I got out and started exploring and came back and said, "I don't like it - we need to keep looking." Ed was not happy with me since he'd already unhooked from the trailer. We went up the creek a little further and found what I felt was the perfect spot - a little bit more cover and right on the creek, like hearing the creek roar all day/night long close. LOVED it.
Ed had to do the majority of the set-up since I had to do the majority of the G wrangling. I knew then that my camp time would be spent chasing him down and trying to keep him out of the creek. And I was right. But the big plus was that he slept like a champ every night since his naps were short and he never stopped moving. The next day we went to get Chuck and Jackie (Dad's best friends) but they had already headed over the hill from the Montana side so we met them about halfway. Mom took them back to our campsite and Ed, G and momma went in to Wallace to call Josiah & Lisa who were going to come join us. Well they had changed their mind and they were already on the road to the Oregon coast. My first thought, "Oh crap I made way too many cupcakes!!!" Ha. I'd made a smash cake and cupcakes for G's birthday and we were going to "celebrate" on the 25th when everyone got to camp. Oh well, we still managed to scarf down the majority of the cupcakes. G DESTROYED his cake after dinnertime and after getting to open the last of his presents. Most of his presents he got to open before we left to go camping because they weren't toys I wanted out at camp. Then G got his first bath in the camper. I think he liked the itty bitty tub that fit him just right.
The next day (Saturday) me, Ed, G, Jackie, Mom and Chuck all went up to the top of the Hiawatha trail with our bikes. Chuck parked down the trail aways and he met us. Wow, what a ride! If you live in North Idaho you MUST go ride the Hiawatha Trail. The $9/person price tag is a hard bill to swallow I must admit. Ed pulled G in the bike trailer and G loved it so much that he fell asleep for probably about an hour. It was a perfect day for a bike ride though - not too hot wtih a good breeze. The first train tunnel (oh my Dad would have loved the pictures) was long and odd because of how black it was. I didn't think 1.7 miles was a big deal but it was kind of long for how strange the feeling in there was. My poor Mom got a little off kilter and she ended up crashing her bike (she's not a bike rider anyway) and she landed in the little culvert on the side of the tunnel (for moisture run-off) right on her back with her camera backpack hanging right in the water. She was like a turtle stuck on her back and after we rescued her ("Are you alright Shirley?" "I'm alright, I'm just stuck!") we laughed but at first, being that it was pitch black in there, I was worried. Thank goodness for headlamps! Once we met up with Chuck, who by the way has one prosthetic leg, we went through another tunnel but this time Chuck crashed. After that Chuck and Mom rode back to camp (3 miles down hill) rather than finish the remaining 12 miles of the Trail. So it was just me, G, Ed and Jackie. Thankfully Ed and Jacks were okay with stopping frequently so I could take pictures. We biked the 3 miles back up to camp and that was easily the hardest part of the ride since it was uphill. We got back to camp ready to die!
The next day we packed up camp and went home the long way, coming out at St. Regis. We got to show Sarah a lot of the St. Joe and completely unsolicited as we're driving down the road she said, "Wow, this pretty. Where are we?" "Heaven," I said. My Dad loved the Joe too (because of its beauty and all the train history) and a lot of our romance (me and Ed) began on the St. Joe. Even though we live in an amazing place, the Joe will always have my heart.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Ed's laptop...
And so the saga of the laptop continues. You know which laptop - the one that G has spilled coffee on more than once (since Ed foolishly leaves his coffee right by his laptop and walks away) that died. Well we dropped it off at a computer repair place in town and it turns out that the problem was the internal battery - a $5.95 part. Too bad we had to pay $90 in "labor." After it was repaired we went back into town to get it - here is me and G waiting outside for Ed:
Then when we got home and Ed powered it on and started using it he discovered that some keys weren't working. So I got online and ordered him a new keyboard (which I'll be installing of course). While I was messing around running some diagnostics I discovered that the power cord/ac adapter are no longer charging. I'm *hoping* that it is the cord and not the battery because I ordered him a new cord. I'll order a new battery if I have to but this laptop is starting to piss me off. I also discovered that the right click on his touch pad no longer works. That's a pretty easy repair but this is starting to get costly for a $450 computer!
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